


the sea isn't yours but you're still the sea's

by FiresFromOurHearts



Series: Uncharted Waters [17]
Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Akatsuki - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), Families of Choice, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Hardships, In a world that wants neither, Kindness, Love, Mercy - Freeform, Root - Freeform, Team as Family, Uchiha Massacre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:01:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29956533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiresFromOurHearts/pseuds/FiresFromOurHearts
Summary: In this life there is no Uzukage reincarnated, just a kid with Uchiha and Uzumaki blood desperately trying to survive in a world torn asunder by blood and hate and war.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Original Character(s) & Uchiha Sasuke
Series: Uncharted Waters [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875832
Kudos: 15





	the sea isn't yours but you're still the sea's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PearlBear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearlBear/gifts).



> Okay so this is going to be a long one! But, it's also like the first AU I started writing though far from the first one I finished. Massive shout out to Pearl in this one, who supported me with every step and got me through it.

Imagine, for a second, that Uzushio is lost to the war. No one calls Uzu no Kuni home anymore, and Uzushio’s Yondaime Uzukage dies, he stays dead. Tired of a war, tired of fighting, Toru Mizushima is willing to lay down his weapons and rest. He has fought for many years; withstood darkness, and death after death—deaths of his friends and family, deaths caused by his own hand. Let him rest, you hear me? Let him be. He has earned this. Let him sleep.

Uzushio dies. And for all that she did not die quietly, she becomes something forgotten. Konoha remembers but barely; Uzushio is an afterthought and she was never meant to be one.

Nonetheless, for all that Uzushio fell and died, some of her people still managed to escape, some finding a place to call home and others wander. Is it really that surprising that some find a place to live and a place to stay in Konoha? Konoha was meant to be their sister village after all, even if Konoha brought no aid to Uzushio and Uzushio died alone.

In this universe, in this world, there is no Uzukage being reincarnated just this—a kid with Uchiha and Uzumaki blood desperately trying to survive in a world torn asunder by blood and hate and war.

Toru Uchiha, named after Uzushio’s last Uzukage who ensured her people left Uzushio, a genius—perhaps—if he bothered to try. Toru Uchiha is brought up on whispered stories of Uzushio, stories that become nothing more than a handful of quiet words, yet he learns to treasure them later when his father dies, _(alone and far from the place he called home, but Uzushio gathers him and lets him rest with her and all the others who should’ve been in Uzushio but weren’t)_. Uchiha and Uzumaki is an interesting mix and Toru’s appearance sets him apart from the rest of his clan who do not see the merging bloodlines as something good, but rather something abhorrent.

Toru Uchiha learns hate at an early age, learns anger and rage too. He learns loneliness and sadness. Yet, Shisui Uchiha still offers warmth and companionship, _(because that is the kind of person he is in every universe)_. Toru Uchiha knows hardship and difficulty due to his childhood, but he knows family and love as well. Within him are no dreams of a village lost to the sea, of seals and chakra twisting and rising, of the sun reflecting beautifully against the steady waves.

Shisui Uchiha commits suicide. Itachi Uchiha murders his clan. Sasuke Uchiha survives.

Yet there is still a change—Toru Uchiha draws painful breath in and breathes painful breath out. Uzumaki heritage is nothing to laugh at. In one world, this would be Uzushio looking after her own. In this world, it’s desperate hope and irony more than anything else, a bit of luck too, _(the one thing that kept him isolated from the clan is the one thing that lets him live after)_.

Surviving is one small event and yet it shapes Toru’s life. An orphan with intelligence lurking behind his eyes but a hurting heart, in which a small figure of a child hides, forever lonely and desolate in place he never quite fitted in. He remains this way—an orphan, intelligent eyes, a hurting heart—for many years, maybe forever. The future, after all, cannot quite be foretold. Nothing is truly set in stone.

_(And yet, there will still be love in his life, will still be friendship. Sometimes a hurting heart is just the way you live, sometimes that’s how you survive.)_

Surviving is a struggle and Toru will forever have a scar on his chest reminding him of his unlikely luck. And yet, he will also have a little brother as well. They do not fit together at first, jagged edges cutting and hurting. They both fracture, spinning wild with sharp corners. Hurts lie beneath skin and anger is the best way to hide such hurt, so they strike out at each other with words meant to wound. They tear into each other, time after time, but they come together too, patch each other up in the aftermath.

In the end, Toru does not die in the Uchiha Clan massacre and Sasuke Uchiha is hard pushed to be an avenger when he’s too busy trying to form some kind of relationship with Toru. They are both hurting, both lonely and sad creatures, weapons at their core, but tools with hearts and no sheath, no shield to protect themselves by.

Graduating to genin is nothing like Toru expects and his team is nothing like he expects either. He struggles and fights, he lives and learns, and his motivation is a small boy with dark hair and darker eyes; a boy who looks to the distance and is aching but refuses to show his wounds. Genius does not equate to being a prodigy, intelligence does not equal skill and talent. Toru is a genin but an average one. Nevertheless, he has the potential to be more.

_(Sometimes potential is all you need and sometimes determination is all you need. Sometimes you can even have both.)_

And, you know what? He tries to be more. He pushes himself, pushes and pushes and drives himself over whatever edge and past whatever limits he has. Forming new limits and new boundaries, he looks forward but he also looks around him. Not one to be looking forward and not one to be stuck with future dreams, Toru is very much aware of those around him.

The chūnin exams come and they go. Toru’s genin team survives one chūnin exam and then another—in which they pass. A year after becoming genin, they become chūnins. Flak jackets still brand-new, not yet broken in, and they are gone to missions within Hi no Kuni and in other countries. The dangers are plentiful, but Toru always comes back to a kid living alone in an apartment too big for two.

And over this time, Toru recalls a hushed lullaby his father once sung, remembers words about Uzushio. Thinking of Uzushio, he recognizes the potential power of seals and he wants to be powerful, wants to be able to protect himself and Sasuke. Is it really a surprise he turns to seals to do so?

Toru learns and he grows. He makes his own skills and gives himself a reputation, but—despite being a shinobi—he has a life outside of missions. Those first few months after the massacre, after him waking up, are filled with the pity of outsiders, unwanted sympathy and empathy. It makes Toru burn because he has not asked for their pity, does not want their kindness. His family is dead and Konoha has done nothing about it. It is ironic that it’s pity that eventually motivates him to renovate the Uchiha Clan Compound, to open it up to others and give them a home. Kindness takes many forms.

It takes the form of Toru Uchiha renting houses out for low prices, but it also takes the form of a boy running into a child on the street. It’s a boy looking at a child, seeing them, and wanting to do something.

Sometimes kindness is an innate part of us, sometimes it’s there regardless of whether or not we know it. Sometimes kindness is apologising and saying ‘What can I do to help?’ Sometimes kindness is helping when help isn’t wanted but needed anyway.

In one world, there would be an information network growing in the shadows, spreading further and further with no one aware of it but one boy. In another world, there is no information network growing, but something else grows instead—hands stretching out, faces looking down. Kindness shared is kindness that can be passed on. Small things can stack, one on top of the other, and sometimes they lead to massive changes that are unforeseen. When a boy extends his hand out to a homeless child, she reaches back cautiously, but their story will end in trust and loyalty, _(always)_.

There is no Uzukage waiting to return to Uzushio, dreaming of a village by the sea awash in the light of a sunset. Instead, there is a boy desperately trying to survive in a world that does not ask for kindness and does not expect it. This world is one torn apart by blood and hate and war and it is determined to not repair itself. It is chaos undefined and unrefined.

This is no fairy tale with a happy ending. This is not a world in which decades of experience aid Toru in every single battle. This is a story where murder is an act that’s not seen as heinous. This is a story where the blood lies thick on Toru’s hands and he does not care.

Despite everything, or maybe because of everything, when Sasuke is put on a team with Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki, he does not get angry. He goes home to his chūnin brother and tells him, says he doesn’t think it can work but that he’s willing to try, says that he doesn’t think his teacher cares for him. It’s enough to push Toru to go with Sasuke the next morning, and when there is no Kakashi within half-an-hour, Toru teaches and helps.

In one universe, a team would have already been made. In another universe, a team will always be in tatters. In this universe, a team is forged beneath the wary eye of Toru. They have a long way to go, but their path as a team is smoother as they try their best to work together and their teacher learns to understand them, learns how to teach in a way he was not taught.

Perhaps this team would have been torn apart on a half-built bridge, perhaps Sasuke would call upon the Sharingan, Naruto the Kyūbi, and Sakura would wait on the sidelines. Perhaps this team is not torn apart, perhaps their team leader calls for help ahead of time, and instead there are three other Konoha ninjas beside Team Kakashi.

When Team Kakashi face their opponents for the second time, there are three chūnins with them. Rather than facing Zabuza alone, Kakashi pairs himself with Toru. Rather than Sasuke and Naruto fighting Haku, instead Shou and Kiku work together as a team to take down the other ninja. In the end, neither Haku nor Zabuza die, for in not fighting genin, the fight goes on for longer. Gatō comes and with him is betrayal. For Zabuza and Haku, it is easy to turn on their employer.

And so, the world continues.

Without the sharingan, Sasuke is not targeted by Orochimaru in the chūnin exams in Konoha. This doesn’t matter. Sasuke works together with Sakura and Naruto and together they make their way through the chūnin exams. And in the Forest of Death they do what seems second nature to them—find another Konoha team and work together. In the end, they come out of the Forest of Death with one day to spare, but Team 8 and Team 10 beside them, _(and something very powerful and important has occurred here, because friends are not to be taken lightly)_.

Entering the chūnin exam preliminary round, the newest Konoha genins make a showing that leaves many surprised. Team 7 pass with Sakura and Naruto showing off their power and control in equal turns, whilst Sasuke thinks his way around his opponent. Meanwhile, Shino and Hinata take care of their opponents in a lightning-quick burst of taijutsu and use of kekkei genkais, _(and Neji watches on, angry and disheartened and a little lost, hating the fact that the Hyūga Clan will never change its traditions)_. Kiba and Chōji soundly defeat their opponents with strength, the former showing a close partnership with Akamaru. Ino is defeated after an intense battle, surrendering with grace, whilst Shikamaru cements his reputation as a lazy ass.

_(They are all excited to have passed the first few rounds of the chūnin exams, but the state Lee is left in after the Sunagakure ninja mercilessly defeats him leaves them disheartened.)_

And then, once again, things change. Change drastically. Because it’s not just no one there watching the Suna jinchūriki, but Toru. Toru who might not be a sealing master but has learnt and swallowed every bit of knowledge he could get, every forgotten page, every dusty book.

So Toru looks at this jinchūriki, looks and thinks that something isn’t right. It’s obvious, but no one says anything. No one does anything.

_(He will never say it and he won’t think it, but these are the actions of cowards. Standing by and watching a child tear himself to pieces just to be the weapon they want him to be. And he won’t be that weapon, they didn’t figure out how to control him, so now there’s just a child who’s lost and afraid and powerful in all the wrong ways and powerless in all the ways that count.)_

_(Toru is loyal. But loyal to who? Loyal to the people of the village, loyal to his family, loyal to people. Toru is loyal and sometimes loyalty is caring for people, helping people, making treasonous decisions.)_

He doesn’t do anything to start with, _(sometimes people look at him and he hears them whisper about Itachi and treason and traitors and he can’t have himself linked with the older Uchiha)_. But then he’s in the hospital, and so is Lee and so is Naruto and so is Shikamaru and so is _Gaara_.

Shikamaru snares Gaara in his shadow and Toru doesn’t give himself a heartbeat to question or even think, he just lunges forward and slams down a seal. He doesn’t know much about jinchūriki seals, but he knows storage seals and has a mind that has figured out sealing when there’s not much to go off.

_(It’s in his blood and it’s in his heart and maybe it’s in his soul too.)_

The seal that Toru writes out is big and long and confusing—if you were anyone else. But Toru knows himself and ties the seal to Gaara and to caring, to love, to protection, because these are things Toru holds dear. He draws it out and thinks of stories, whispered lullabies, a refusal to give in and give up.

These things are Toru’s, but they’re Gaara’s too, _(they’re everyone’s)_.

Drawing back, an hour passed, Toru looks to Shikamaru who’s still standing though no longer has Gaara held with his shadow. But Shikamaru stood guard. Stood guard and didn’t say a word even though Toru’s actions are treasonous and Shikamaru is loyal to Konoha. And Naruto did the same, without question and without doubt.

Garaa comes back to himself, blinking. He frowns. “Mother’s gone silent.”

“That was a bijū,” Toru says. “Maybe they call themself your mother, but they aren’t.”

Gaara continues to frown, and lifts a hand, placing it over his heart. “I don’t- I don’t know how to feel. I don’t-”

“You breathe,” Toru says, “and you continue. You figure out who you are and who you want to be.”

“I have to prove myself,” Gaara says, and the words sound like a mantra oft repeated. “I have to prove I exist.” He turns towards Lee, who has remained asleep throughout all of this, _(probably for the better, Toru knows)_. “I have to.”

“And once you kill everyone?” Naruto challenges before Toru can say anything. “What happens then? Who is left to remember you?”

“I don’t-” Gaara’s eyes are wide—wider than usual. He looks lost and so, so young. “How do I prove I exist?”

Toru drops down to one knee, thinks of hands stretching out, thinks of help giving and passed on. “You be kind,” he says, _(kindness, what a strange word in the world they live in)_. “You talk to people and you be kind. People remember kindness. The person down the street might be having a bad day, but if you smile at them—they’re likely to remember.”

“Yeah!” Naruto says. “People can be awful so easily. It gets to the point where it all really blurs into one, y’know? People can be awful and mean and bad and their faces are one and you don’t remember them. But kindness? People remember that. The light at the end of the tunnel, the open door in a storm, the smile when no one else will look at you.” He swallows. “I’m like you—I know what it’s like. But you’re so much more than what they say.”

Gaara continues staring at them, eyes wide and unsure, and Toru _aches_.

“Take your time,” he says. “Find yourself. You don’t have to know who you are, you don’t have to make these decisions in heartbeats. Decide who you want to be and how you want people to see you.”

Gaara nods and then he flees, sand slithering down the hallway, and Toru breathes out. “You’re probably not meant to do that,” Shikamaru says, and Toru glances at him. But the boy is smirking just faintly, lounging against the wall like everything’s fine, _(Toru sees the way he’s paler than normal, spots the slight trembling, and kindly doesn’t mention any of it)_.

“Perhaps not,” Toru agrees. “But you helped me, didn’t you?”

“Tch,” Shikamaru says, pushing himself off the wall. “You’ve got to be more careful. Sasuke-kun won’t manage if you disappear on him too.”

The world goes on, Gaara becomes a figure hidden in the shadows, and Toru watches as Team Kakashi figure out how they’re going to train. He sees this and considers how Kakashi doesn’t seem to be teaching them, _(thinks of how many mornings he’s spent working with them)_. All he’s seen from Sakura are the things that he’s taught her, nothing from Kakashi.

“You know where your teammates are?” Toru asks Naruto as they leave.

“We’re meeting for a late lunch,” Naruto says. “And then we’re going to the training ground where Kakashi should have appeared a few hours ago.”

Toru swallows down his laughter. Team Kakashi have gotten _very_ good at working around their teacher, _(yet he can’t help but feel upset about it as well; they never should have figured out how to work around their teacher)_. “Alright,” he says. “Do you mind if I join you? I’d like to talk to Kakashi-san as well. Is Sakura-chan going to be there?”

“He just said to make it there to discuss training, didn’t really specify,” Naruto says with a shrug, but there’s an undertone of anger to his voice. A teammate ignored rarely sits well with people, and even if their teacher is awful, Toru’s glad they have this at least.

“Well let’s go see what kind of training you’re all going to get,” Toru says.

Naruto glances up at Toru, and there’s hope on his face. Toru wonders why he didn’t do this earlier. “All of us?” He says. “Even Sakura-chan?”

“Even her,” Toru agrees. “I’ll ensure you get training even if I have to do it myself.”

“You’re a way better teacher anyway,” Naruto says. “But can you train all three of us?”

Toru tilts his head and considers the idea realistically. “Yes,” he decides, “but it’ll be a lot of independent work. I might be able to get some teachers coming in and going out as well, and I might be able to get some leave from missions for a few weeks. If I complete D-ranks, I can also fill the quota for the month that way.”

“We can help you if you need as well! I’m sure the others will agree.”

Toru rubs a hand through Naruto’s hair. “You’re all good kids,” he says. “Now let’s go get lunch, yeah?”

* * *

Once again, Toru stands up to Kakashi and stares him down and demands he does better. This time, Kakashi eventually gives in, threatened with the removal of a team that he’s started caring for, _(even if he tried to avoid such things for weeks on end)_. This time Sasuke isn’t trained alone or Sakura abandoned or Naruto handed off.

Instead, they make a plan, figure out a routine, create schedules. There are friends called in, people who owe them debts, and Jiraiya even appears briefly only to later disappear. Through it all, Team Kakashi laugh and smile and grow, _(grow and grow and grow and Toru watches them and doesn’t know how things could get better)_.

Then, one night in the Uchiha Clan Compound, Toru feels the wards go off and goes to investigate. Standing just inside the wards is Gaara, and he’s not alone. He has his siblings with him, and they are armed like they’re going to war, _(and maybe they are; maybe they’ve always been at war)_.

“Hey Gaara-san,” Toru says. “Temari-san, Kankurō-san, good evening.”

“Uchiha-sama,” Temari says, stepping forward, _(and Gaara lets her, just watches with uneasy eyes)_ , “Gaara said we could come to you and that you could be trusted.”

_(Those words hide a treasure trove of things not said. Temari does not talk about how Gaara came back and didn’t appear insane. She doesn’t mention how he spoke to her, doesn’t mention the things he’s heard, the things he’s been told, the things gone wrong in Sunagakure. She doesn’t talk about how she pulled Kankurō into her room with Gaara as well and they spoke about the rebellion they had always planned, a timeline shifted forward, and a world changing. She doesn’t mention any of this but steps forward into the big shoes of the leader she will one day be.)_

“I hope I prove myself worth of that trust,” Toru says. Then he waits, waits for the Suna-nins to speak, and knows that there’s a bomb beneath his feet and if he shifts wrong, it’ll go off.

Temari breathes in, measured. “I hope so too,” she mutters then, louder, says, “It’s believed that the Kazekage who arrived in Konohagakure yesterday is not the Kazekage who should be leading us. Suna has agreed to launch a joint attack on Konohagakure with Otogakure.”

That’s… a lot. It’s war, plain and simple. An attack when Konoha is at her strongest and most vulnerable. Toru is a chūnin. He can hardly bring this up with the Hokage or even warn people. But he is the Uchiha Clan Head, and he’s a friend to many—even Kakashi, who is important in Konoha.

“Why do you bring this information to me?” He asks, because the reason why they came forward matters. Well, it does and it doesn’t. Toru’s decision doesn’t rest on their desire, but they have shared a lot of information with him that most wouldn’t, _(they are genins, in the end, no matter their skill level)_.

“We might be able to have most of Suna stand down,” Temari says. “But we want confirmation that we won’t be harmed if we do so.”

Not quite in Toru’s power, but… “I need to go out with this information,” he says. “Your teacher, will he be willing to meet with me?”

Temari hesitates, and then nods, “He’ll listen to me if I ask,” she says.

“Good,” Toru decides. “Go get him then come with me, Gaara can show you the way if needed. I need to get a few other people.”

This won’t be small. This will be big. This is a war on the horizon and Konoha’s walls threatening to fall. In its way, Toru stands, _(stands with shadows at his back, reaching for him if only he asks—some will help him even if he doesn’t)_.

The beginning of Otogakure’s downfall goes like this: Toru talks to Kakashi and his friends. His friends pass it onto their friends. Kakashi passes it on to his friends, even those hidden behind masks in ANBU. And the whispers and rumours and gossip fly through Konoha, sink deep and take hold of the trunk, _(and beneath Konoha, in vast system of passages and tunnels, no whispers are heard in the shadows because nothing is said that are not orders)_.

Otogakure attacks, of course they do, but the rest of Konoha is ready. There have been whispers, you see, and a spymaster heard them and passed them on. And Sunagakure stands tall and refuses and their Kazekage reveals himself to be Orochimaru, and the fight begins. Otogakure is beaten soundly and swiftly, though Orochimaru still manages to escape.

In the aftermath, there are no divisions between anyone—just people be they Suna or Konoha or some other village, be they ninja or civilian, they just are.

_(This is not because of what Toru did. This is because people come together in times of danger and in times of fear and help each other in the aftermath. There are no lines in the sand drawn, not right now, just the push back against the tide.)_

But life goes on and the world does not stop. Jiraiya brings Naruto with him on a search for the next Hokage, and Naruto takes Sasuke with him this time. Sakura rolls up her sleeves and helps at the hospital, learns to heal from books and learns to stitch injuries back together.

Kakashi fights Itachi and loses. Toru learns from the sidelines. And ROOT takes a chance.

_(Itachi did not expect anyone to survive aside from Sasuke. He did not barter for Toru’s safety, why would he? Toru is an unknown. Toru matters to Sasuke, but he’s not watched. There are no eyes on him. He’s relatively unknown.)_

ROOT steals Toru away in the confusion of Itachi’s invasion and subsequent attacks. There are rumours that he went after Sasuke who Itachi is tracking, there are rumours he was injured, there are rumours he is dead.

Toru finds himself beneath Konoha in a place he has never been, in a place he never knew he had to fear, in a place that holds all the secrets Konoha should be aware of but isn’t. In this life there is no Uzukage reincarnated, just a kid with Uchiha and Uzumaki blood desperately trying to survive in a world torn asunder by blood and hate and war.

Danzō knew what to expect. He saw what he expected to see. Saw a chūnin who could be a ruthless tool, who could be perfect in the right hands, who could be a magnificent puppet. There are a lot of things Danzō didn’t see too, things he didn’t know to expect and never thought possible, _(and once again, this is how Danzō’s downfall begins)_.

Here is what Toru has never been: helpless. He has never been helpless because he refuses to be. He claws his way up cliffs and has screamed at the storm. He has fought the world that told him kindness was a weakness and told the world that he was better than that.

Danzō expects someone easily cowed, someone who he can threaten with threats, someone who he can begin to brainwash from the get-go, _(Danzō knows how to break people, he has been doing it for decades, and has it down to an art)_.

_(Here is what happens to Toru: he breaks and then he rises. He’s an Uchiha, they always rise from the ashes.)_

Leave Toru alone for a minute and he’ll take the time you give him. Danzō didn’t expect the seals, why would he? Toru’s never showcased the skill and those who know haven’t mentioned it.

Toru escapes, _(he always does and he always will)_. He flees from the room and does the unexpected, once again, working his way through the rooms. Once again, he’s faced with an army that’s made up of children more than anything else. Once again, he finds seals and files and missions.

Once again, he finds the truth.

_(The Uzushio file remains unnoticed, remains uncared for. Yes, Toru’s father hailed from Uzushio, but Toru’s home is Konoha. Uzushio has never been in his dreams, has never called for him on the wind, Toru Mizushima is dead.)_

Itachi isn’t a traitor. The clan was planning a coup d’état. Itachi followed his orders.

The Uchiha Clan took the fall for something only the majority of their members were part of. The children died because Danzō gave orders and the Hokage seconded them. Itachi took the mission for Sasuke. Itachi ran for Sasuke. Itachi lives for Sasuke.

So yes, maybe there’s no Uzukage, but Toru is still Toru. He escapes from the ROOT passages, using everything he’s ever learnt and all his wits, and finds his way to the Nara Clan, _(because Shikamaru saw him change a jinchūriki seal and said nothing and that has to mean something)_.

There is no Kakashi here to lend a hand. Sasuke and Naruto are fighting for their lives elsewhere. And all Toru has is an army of children beneath his feet searching for him, and a man out to make him a tool.

But Toru does have files and information and missions. He has evidence of corruption and treason and blackmail. He has folders of children stolen, many dead, and even more brainwashed. He places them on the table in a Clan Council meeting and meets the eyes of those older than him and more experience than him and demands that they do something.

They do not backdown.

The Hokage finds out that the clans know when Shikaku Nara files into his office, the Clan Heads trailing behind him, and he is forced to make a move against Danzō for the last time, for the final time, _(it’s a move he should have made before the names of the dead were in the hundreds, but it is too late for that now)_.

Danzō does not go down easily. He fights and curses and blackmails. But there are ANBU and there are the clans and there is a Konoha that refuses to abide that a brainwashed army of children has been doing their dirty work for them, _(refuses to let another clan be wiped out, refuses to let another village die without helping them, refuses to say that what happened was okay)_.

When Tsunade comes to take the Hokage seat, a weary Hizuen Sarutobi hands it over to her. Konoha is not sad to see him go. The ruins of ROOT and Danzō’s betrayal will be the memory of his rule for a long time yet.

When Tsunade comes to take the Hokage seat, she is given a Konoha suffering from an Elder’s betrayal and has too many nameless, brainwashed children. But that is not Toru’s problem.

When Sasuke gets home, he learns of what really happened the night Itachi massacred the clan. It is an ugly truth. It is an awful truth. It is a truth that is said regardless.

Kakashi is healed. Sakura gets an internship at the hospital. Sasuke cries. And Naruto wonders about the others out there who are just like him.

In the meantime, Toru forces himself to get better and be better and improve, because his weaknesses are now obvious, _(and now it feels like even Konoha is not safe for him)_. ANBU pick him up and forge him into a sharper tool, teach him how to put away his humanity and how to pick it back up, _(they have learnt from the days when Kakashi was an ANBU)_.

Decisions must be made. Jiraiya cannot stay in Konoha forever, and he offers Naruto to join him in travelling. Promises to teach him new things. This time, Sasuke cannot come and Sakura can’t either.

Naruto thinks about it, but his teammates tell him it’s a good idea, and so he accepts, _(and there’s a being in his stomach that growls and snarls and throws harsh words at him and Naruto knows how they feel, so he takes the words on board and tries to be better)_. Kakashi, fearing his team breaking apart, latches onto Sakura and Sasuke with surprising strength and continues to teach them. Sasuke grows into himself, figures out how to use the Sharingan, and makes it his goal to bring Itachi back home safely. And Sakura?

Sakura grows up, she shoots up, towering above Sasuke and lording in her height. She’s given a battlefield promotion to chūnin a month before Sasuke, and starts becoming known as a frontline battlefield medic.

Meanwhile, Sasuke picks up tracking from Kakashi, _(because even if the worlds are different and the people are different, sometimes the same decisions are made)_. He tracks down missing-nins and works with new teams and old teammates and old classmates and grows in his skills, grows into the reputation that being an Uchiha gives him.

Naruto, distanced from the other two but remaining in contact because they are a _team_ , learns too. He learns about summoning and seals and ninjutsus and how to be a spymaster. Most of all, he learns about what being a jinchūriki means—not a sacrifice but a prison, _(and Naruto has been caged before by cold eyes and hatred, he knows what it feels like to rage against the world that has been so cruel to you, and he knows how it feels to find someone holding the door open for you and welcoming you inside)_. And, ever so slowly, he gains his bijū’s trust.

Hidden behind a mask, Toru finds himself a rookie position on an ANBU team. It’s a hard position, but one that’s surprisingly fulfilling. His team is willing to teach him, but so are others who all have their own masks. It’s not quite a family—Toru built one for himself already, _(he was forced to grow up too fast to look after Sasuke and doesn’t see a reason to need anyone else)_. He learns, picks up skills, and they knew he was smart. Only now do they realise just how smart.

ANBU knows a thing or two about geniuses throwing themselves against cliffs and shattering their bones, _(falling down without a hand to help them up)_. So their missions are somewhat kinder than they would normally be. Toru gets more rest than most ANBUs get, and he doesn’t mind. Not when he comes home to Sasuke and Sakura and, increasingly, Kakashi.

* * *

Time passes and eventually it’s been almost two years since Naruto left Konoha to travel and learn. It’s been two years and Sakura is a tokubetsu jōnin, working in the hospital, and training under Shizune. It’s been two years and Sasuke’s making a name for himself as a chūnin tracker. It’s been two years and Toru’s still in ANBU and it hasn’t ruined him yet.

But things have to change and there are enemies sitting on the horizon casting shadows that no one knows to be scared of yet. Jiraiya hears of the Akatsuki and starts pushing back towards Konoha and Hi no Kuni where they should be safe. Orochimaru begins making noise in Otogakure again, though no one seems to be sure what’s going on. Apparently, he leaves behind the village and strikes off heading to an unknown destination.

Here is what Konoha knows: Orochimaru appears to have been getting more and more unstable as time passes. Orochimaru has finally left the refuge of Otogakure where he’s been holed up for the last two years.

Here is what Konoha knows: Orochimaru is a missing-nin and he’s dangerous and this is their best chance to take him down. They send some of their best.

Kakashi, not ANBU but there as a tracker and ninjutsu fighter, leads the team, following the trail Orochimaru had left behind. The team includes a number of ninjas of various ages and experience—there’s a group of mismatched jōnins and chūnins hand-picked for this task, and then an ANBU team with a few extra members attached.

_(This is the finale for Orochimaru, though he does not know it yet. In fact, Orochimaru is far more important than he realises. He, after all, is the one who helps them save the world.)_

They find Orochimaru. He’s insane, eyes bloodshot, and something’s definitely off. But then Orochimaru’s always been like that, now it’s just more obvious. Kakashi lunges forward in an attack and the fight begins.

_(Before they attacked Orochimaru, they made a plan. There had been enough of them to make a fairly detailed one, to go about this as ninjas, complete with traps and hidden attackers and a medic-nin who refused to step back and watch.)_

It doesn’t matter how it all happens or how it goes down—Orochimaru dies, _(he dies with blood on his teeth, grinning at them and laughing, he dies and it is, perhaps, a better death than one like Orochimaru deserves)_. No, what matters is what happens next.

The team are returning home, on route to Konoha with their dead and with their success, when Kakashi senses Naruto’s chakra flaring wildly in the distance. He doesn’t think, he just runs.

The group splits, half following Kakashi and half going home. A decision made by the ANBU quickly because they don’t know what to expect. The scene the group arrives to is Naruto with Sasuke and Shikamaru fighting a thing that looks to be made of plant matter that somehow has a face.

_(None of them know, and they will never know, that this creature is Zetsu. This is what lies behind the Akatsuki and urges them forward towards a goal that they don’t really want. They will never know because the Akatsuki’s goal will change in a few months and they will never know why. It doesn’t matter, in the end.)_

One of the things about living in a world full of ninjas is that the impossible is often possible. You have to adapt, have to be quick, because the world does not wait for you, will not wait for you, _(if you don’t adapt, you die; it’s as simple as that)_.

The creature they fight uses the Mokuton. It splits into two and attacks with clones that come from the woodwork.

_(Zetsu might have hoped to flee when Naruto and the others received backup. But maybe he was overconfident, or maybe he made a mistake.)_

Kakashi uses lightning. Already tired and exhausted from fighting Orochimaru, he still fights with everything he has. Because his students are here and he will not let them be taken from him or stolen or killed. He might’ve been a bad teacher at the start, but he’s learnt, and he’s grown to love these students of his. He would die for them, and he will live for them too.

And, of course, Sakura is there, _(where else would she be when her team is in danger)_. Battlefield medic to the core, she swings by those who’d already been fighting, and then smashes her fist into Zetsu’s face.

It gives them all a moment to breathe. But not for long, and all too soon, the fight begins again but now it’s less controlled. Zetsu is not trying to hide. And then-

Then there’s a second person with an orange mask attacking them. The ANBU team swoops in.

The first attack goes through the person, the second lands when they come up from the ground. Maybe Zetsu and the orange-masked person are stronger than all of them individually, but they are not fighting as individuals here—they’re fighting as a team.

More importantly, Toru is there, _(ANBU and masked, but he’s still Toru)_. Toru who has seals and has always been learning and has never once bothered to stop or pause or think to take a break.

_(Perhaps this is what is most important: Toru was never meant to be here, never important, never in the limelight, and so no one knows to prepare against him.)_

ANBU rookie, perhaps, but still an ANBU. Toru gathers his team, sees how the orange-masked ninja tries to target Kakashi even as Kakashi tries to attack the strange creature none of them have seen before, and shares a plan with quick hand signs.

Naruto glows with the chakra of a bijū he’s made friends with. Sasuke’s eyes are Sharingan-red and swirling, and Sakura’s fists glow with chakra. Lightning crackles and no one dares consider giving in for a moment.

One ANBU slips between Kakashi and Zetsu, signals Kakashi, and leaps forward to fill the gap at Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura’s back. Kakashi, who may no longer be ANBU but still remembers what he was taught, turns and joins the ANBU team in dealing with the orange-masked ninja.

The orange-masked ninja targets him, narrowing in with a focus that gets you killed unless you’re powerful. Toru steals forward in the advantage, sticks in the shadows of his teammates, _(he’s always been in the shadows, this is no different)_ , and in the heartbeat after the orange-masked ninja has a kunai thrown through him and in the heartbeat before they attack, Toru rises from the shadows and slams forward with a seal.

There is no second-guessing here, no time for mercy. Not only did this ninja attack Toru’s teammates, but he went after Naruto and Sasuke, _(and Toru knows kindness, but he knows that removing threats when they attack is the best way to stay safe and keep those you love safe)._ The ninja goes down, paralysed by seals, and Toru slashes their throat, and then he’s up and turning. Another ANBU follows his attack by slicing off the ninja’s head, then they move onto the last attacker.

_(They will never know who this man is, when they take off his mask. They will see his scars and note him to be an Uchiha because they all saw his eye. But they will not know who he is. How could they? No one’s ever seen him before.)_

_(Kakashi never knowing it was Obito will never be a tragedy. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.)_

But Zetsu did not just call a single ninja to him, he called to the Akatsuki—any who were close.

Here is what Zetsu did not know: Itachi was never the Akatsuki’s.

_(Here is one mistake Zetsu made today: he attacked Itachi’s little brother.)_

An ANBU goes down. Shikamaru takes a hit and gets back up. Sakura does her best to heal and fight and has to decide which one is more important.

Itachi flies through the trees, called by Zetsu and drawn by his brother’s chakra.

_(Toru fights and fights and fights because there are people to protect.)_

Zetsu senses Itachi come and laughs. He lunges, stabs through Sasuke’s lung with a wooden spike, and goes for Kakashi who’s coming at him with lightning in his hand, once again.

Toru darts around Kakashi, defends his side, and sends a wave of fire, blocking Zetsu’s vision briefly. Naruto snarls and growls and charges forward, and Sakura calls on her chakra and holds a life in each hand as she struggles to keep them both alive without choosing which one more important than the other, _(this is the life of a battlefield medic: you hold lives in your hand and sometimes have to decide)_.

Branches slip around Naruto’s ankles, hold him down, leach the bijū chakra away, and Naruto’s chakra is stolen from his fingertips. Zetsu laughs, in victory, in success, in triumph.

Itachi leaps from the trees and blinks. His Sharingan swirls to life and he sends undying black flames to swallow Zetsu whole. And Zetsu, who does not know teamwork but expects loyalty, screams because this was not how it was meant to go.

_(This is something Zetsu will never know: he made a mistake in believing the world would bow to his wishes. He made a mistake in assuming that his dream was the only future the world would have.)_

Before anyone can make a move against Itachi, Toru relaxes, dropping away from his team to check on the others—injured or dead. “He’s with Konoha,” Toru says. And ANBU are not meant to tell the world who they are, but Toru committed treason before he was an ANBU. His loyalty wasn’t to Konoha first, it was to the people—and _his_ people specifically.

Kakashi hears Toru and listens. The ANBU hear their teammate and listen. Sasuke breathes in one breath and rasps out the next and keeps breathing.

This is not a happy ending because this is not their ending. But they all return home. Two will have funerals and their names etched into a stone. But the rest will get to return home.

Tsunade will see Itachi return with a group she told got waylaid by an attack on Konoha’s jinchūriki and will remember reading the ROOT files and will welcome him home. Sasuke and Toru will show him the Uchiha Clan Compound remade, a place that is happier than Itachi ever remembers it being. And they will learn how to be a family.

Eventually, in time, Naruto will find himself as Hokage and will make alliances with everyone he can talk himself into meeting. Before then, Tsunade will step down and retire and remain in Konoha, _(because Konoha is home now, even if it hadn’t been once)_.

Sakura will never run the hospital, and she’ll never want to. She’ll create a program for battlefield medics though and revolutionise the Ninja Academy especially in terms of a medical program that had previously been lacking.

Here is what Team Kakashi will always be, even years into the future: Team Kakashi, _(they will never be anything less than a family)_. And here is what Team Kakashi does: gain a bigger family.

One day, Kakashi will look around and realise he’s happy to be alive. One day, Naruto will look around and realise that he has a family and has for years. One day, Sakura will look around and realise she’s become a legend. One day, Sasuke will look around and realise that he couldn’t imagine a better future.

And Toru? Toru looks around now and finds himself perfectly content.

**Author's Note:**

> Some of the tenses might be funky, but I'm not entirely sure what they're doing so I've just let them be to be honest. 
> 
> "Sometimes a hurting heart is just the way you live, sometimes that’s how you survive." Oof, did this line have to come after me as hard as it did. What did past me know? 
> 
> I'm aware this is rather disjointed and time skips randomly, but sometimes that's what you get and I have no plans to rewrite everything out. This is better for the long run and also writing this is a challenge and I definitely struggled with this one once I was a little bit of the way into it. Like I said, it took months. 
> 
> The kindness bit!! From "Kindness takes many forms" and the thing about kindness shared is kindness passed on. I'm very proud of those lines in here. It's literally the part I like the most about this AU, I think. And, naturally, this links into the whole Gaara thing and just people remembering kind actions. Like, maybe they won't remember in the long run, but I still remember someone stopping the bus for me as I ran towards it. People are kind when they don't have to be. Small actions that cost nothing are sometimes enough to turn a stranger's day from a bad one to a good one. I can attest to that. 
> 
> The whole deal with the chunin exams and Suna's attack is probably unrealistic. BUT, I had been stuck for ages so we're all just going to go with it, please and thank you. 
> 
> The people coming together in times of danger bit... Hmm, I have a feeling I was writing that bit around the time of the Australian bushfires, I think. And the bushfires were awful things but - people came together. People did things even though they didn't have to. And I think it says a lot about humankind, how we come together in times of tragedy and horror to help. 
> 
> Oh shit, I suddenly remember hitting this ending and trying to figure out. And I went to Pearl, after months and months of struggling with it and telling her about it, and being like, "Consider: civil war in Konoha". And anyway, we went that route apparently. 
> 
> There are some good lines in here! I love discovering lines I like in my own writing. I think the stuff about Toru having found his own family and also Sakura shooting up, and also ANBU knowing a thing or two about geniuses throwing themselves against cliffs. That was some nice writing there. 
> 
> FUCK YEAH HAPPY ENDINGS. We love that shit.
> 
> If you want, you can find me over on [Tumblr](https://silent-silver-slip.tumblr.com/) with the tag for this series being The Sea Never Dies. You should also join us over on Discord where people keep making me write new AUs, the link is [here](https://discord.com/invite/DTbGtSc). We'd love to have you! Wishing you all a good day.


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